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Song of the Day #4,911: ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’ – Tina Turner

Today I wrap up my look at the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees, and though I’ve presented the lineup in alphabetical order, I was still able to save the best (or at least the most deserving) for last.

Tina Turner has been a member of the Rock Hall since 1991 as part of Ike & Tina Turner, but she has been eligible for a solo slot since the Hall of Fame began. And while she did have a prolific career alongside her abusive husband, she reached much greater heights on her own. This induction has been a no-brainer for more than 30 years.

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Song of the Day #4,910: ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’ – Gil Scott-Heron

The inclusion of hip-hop in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has meant not just contemporary artists making the cut, but also the artists who influenced them.

Gil Scott-Heron was inducted this year in the “Early Influences” category, acknowledging the impact his work had on early rap acts. Scott-Heron’s blend of spoken-word poetry over jazz and soul backgrounds in the 70s helped pave the way for hip-hop artists in the 80s and beyond.

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Song of the Day #4,909: ‘Man in Black’ – Johnny Cash

The title track of Johnny Cash’s 1971 album Man in Black, today’s random SOTD offers an explanation for Cash’s drab wardrobe.

While the song paints an evocative picture of a man who has seen too much injustice in the world and made a sartorial choice to reflect his disapproval, Cash has reportedly said that he started wearing black because it was easy to keep clean on tour.

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Song of the Day #4,908: ‘Flaming Wreck’ – Pernice Brothers

I bought Pernice Brothers’ 2001 album The World Won’t End at Los Angeles’ Amoeba Music during a family trip in the summer of 2013.

I know that because I posted about it during a week recounting my purchases at Amoeba on that trip.

Though this album comes highly recommended, and I’ve liked everything I’ve heard on it, I think this is the first time I’ve heard one of its songs since that post eight years ago.

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Song of the Day #4,907: ‘Hello It’s Me’ – Todd Rundgren

Singer-songwriter and producer Todd Rundgren has been eligible for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame since 1996, but wasn’t nominated for the first time until 2019. He failed to get in on that ballot, and again in 2020, but finally made the cut this year.

Rundgren’s inclusion feels overdue, especially as the Hall shifts its definition of “rock & roll” to account for the emergence of hip-hop in the 20th century. Here’s an old-school pop-rock artist who has been churning out creative, influential records since 1970. He’s exactly the kind of talent who fits the traditional mold of the Hall of Fame.

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